Page 49 of His Improper Lady

“America!” Desiree stiffened and cast a glance at Tom.

“Yes, everyone thought it was foolish to import one, but Alistair saw them when he went to New York and fell in love with them. That was the one he drove the most.”

“Sir, what did that carriage look like?” Tom asked, leaning forward.

Bellard’s eyebrows rose slightly at Tom’s intense tone. “Ah, I’m not sure I ever saw it, actually. I—there was something odd about it, as I recall.”

“The driver’s seat was low?” Tom asked. “Right in front of the passengers?”

“Yes, that may be it. Why?”

“I think I might have seen it,” Desiree said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t think so.” Bellard shook his head. “That was years ago. Alistair’s the only one who liked it. I imagine it’s been sitting in that barn on the estate with all the others since he left.”

“It doesn’t seem the sort of thing Tabitha would use,” the duchess agreed. “I’ve never met anyone less likely to step out of bounds than that woman.”

“I don’t remember any of these people,” Alex said, looking puzzled.

“No, you wouldn’t, dear,” his mother told him. “The older children might, but Alistair was gone by the time you and Con were born. And his wife didn’t associate with us much after he left. She thought the Morelands were far too scandalous.”

“I would think Alistair leaving her would have been more of a scandal than anything we’ve done,” Con pointed out.

“Well, yes, but, you see, he was a Moreland, so that was the fault of the family, too,” Emmeline explained. “I confess I could never really like Tabitha. She was always concerned with such trivial matters. She hadn’t the first idea about social reforms or the world at large. But I did feel sorry for her after Alistair ran off. It wasn’t only that it was scandalous and humiliating for her, but she was apparently madly in love with him. Wilhemina said Tabitha took to her bed and cried for days after she found his note. It must have been terrible to love someone that much and know it’s not returned.”

Desiree felt an unreasonable stab of guilt at the pain her father had caused. Her parents had carelessly left a trail of broken lives in their pursuit of love.

“Tabitha was the woman who came to see me the other day,” the duke told Alex. “Didn’t you see her?”

“No.” Alex shook his head.

“That’s right. You were still at breakfast.” The duke turned to Tom. “She’s the woman you met.”

“Why did Tabitha call on you, dear?” Emmeline asked.

“Oh, something about Gregory. She’s always worried that Gregory isn’t getting his proper share of the money or that he’s been overlooked or he’s being slighted.” He paused. “Well, to be fair, sometimes it’s about her being overlooked and slighted.”

“As if I slight her,” Emmeline said indignantly. “I invite her to every large family gathering even though I know she isn’t going to come.”

“Gregory? Cousin Gregory?” Con asked. He said to his brother, “You remember Cousin Gregory’s mother. We called her Aunt Cat.”

“I remember her.” Alex nodded. “I’d forgotten her real name. But that fits, of course. Tabby. Cat.”

Con turned to Desiree. “I’m afraid Cousin Gregory will be a disappointment as a brother, Miss Malone. He was always a prig. Still is, last time I saw him.”

Alex nodded. “Terribly rigid. He was, what, only five or six years older than us, but he was already an old man. ‘One mustn’t do this, one mustn’t say that. Building a mud fort would ruin his clothes.’”

“And do you remember him asking what was the point in getting onto the roof of the barn?” Con and Alex both shook their heads at that peculiarity.

“To be fair, boys,” Emmeline said, “you two played a number of tricks on the poor lad.”

“Because he was so stuffy,” Alex protested. “And I did not throw a frog at him like his mother said. I’d never do that to a frog. I just handed it to him to hold because Con and I had to go look for Augustus. His mother let out a shriek like I’d offered to stab him, and she slapped me.”

“She what?” The duchess’s eyes took on a dangerous light. “She actually laid a hand on you?”

Alex shrugged. “I ducked. I should have said she tried to slap me—she only grazed the top of my head. But it was most unfair because it was Con who’d let Augustus out, and that was the reason I had the frog in my hand.” He turned to look pointedly at his brother as he made this remark.

“Yes, but you were the one who told her she’d better hold on to that little dog of hers since the boa constrictor was loose,” Con retorted.